A NORTH Cumbrian schoolboy was aged eleven when he began committing serious sexual offences, including the rape of a four-year-old girl. 

The disturbing details of the case were outlined at Carlisle’s Rickergate court as the boy, who is now aged 16, was put before a district judge to be sentenced, though that did not happen as planned for legal reasons.

At an earlier hearing, the boy had pleaded guilty to five offences: two rapes of the girl, inciting the same victim to engage in sexual activity on at least ten occasions; making indecent 12 photos of the same child; and voyeurism.

Prosecutor George Shelley outlined the offences.

He said the offending came to light when child protection officials were contacted by the boy’s maternal grandmother after the teenager's father came into possession of the defendant’s mobile phone.

On that device the father had found a folder containing “selfie-style” videos which showed the boy with the victim in various sexual situations.

The family discussed what was found and felt it appropriate to contact the authorities, said Mr Shelley.

After this happened, the boy was arrested, and then allowed to stay at the home of a relative, though he continued to have access to an X-Box.

“The defendant’s grandfather received communication from Microsoft; the (defendant’s) user profile had been suspended due to inappropriate activity,” said the prosecutor.

Police found concerning search queries on the boy's phone, including a question about whether it was “fine to have sex at four” and “to have sex at six”.

This too was reported to the police, leading to a forensic examination of the boy’s phone.

Police found 12 indecent thumbnail images of a young girl, thought to be the child sexually abused by the defendant.

There were also two videos; one showed an adult female undressing.

The court heard a victim impact statement from the mother of the abused girl. The woman said the child wanted to tell the defendant that what he had done was wrong. She said it was sad for a child so young to have something like this hanging over her.

John Smith, defending, said the boy had always admitted to his family what he had done. For all but one of the offences, the defendant was aged between 11 and 14 and in only one of the offences was he 14.

“He would probably have been given to impulsive behaviour, without looking into the details of how that would affect other people and the consequences for the future,” said the lawyer.

The boy also found it difficult to deal with his “emerging sexuality,” said Mr Smith.

The lawyer highlighted the guiding principle of the youth justice system, which is to prevent future offending and consider the welfare of the child. Mr Smith added that there had been no further reported problems for two years.

District Judge John Temperley said he felt unable to complete the sentencing exercise due to unanswered questions about the proposed sexual harm prevention order that is being sought by the prosecution.

It presently contains 15 separate prohibitions, including a requirement to not associate with any person aged under 16, which for a person of the defendant’s age may be problematic, the judge accepted.

Mr Smith suggested such an order may not be necessary.

The District Judge adjourned sentencing until Thursday of next week so that there can be more consultation over the appropriate way to deal with the proposed sexual harm prevention order. The teenager has no previous convictions.

The identities of both the boy and the victim are protected by law.